The Root Causes of Domestic Terrorism in Nigeria: An Empirical Investigation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51983/arss-2016.5.2.1321Keywords:
Ordinary Least Squares, Domestic Terrorism, NigeriaAbstract
Terrorism is the premeditated use or threat to use violence by individuals or sub-national groups against non-combatants in order to obtain a political or social objective through the intimidation of a large audience beyond that of the immediate victims. Nigeria as a developing country is having its own share of act of terrorism. With its multifaceted problems of mass unemployment, illiteracy, poor health, low infrastructure and poverty, Nigeria’s inability to secure her citizens has become more glaring than ever. However, the root causes of terrorism in the country have yet to be examined. In this paper, the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) technique was explored to estimate the behavioural equation for the period 1970 to 2015. Following a detailed time series analysis, the findings reveal that economic, political and environmental factors are prevalent regarding the root causes of terrorism in Nigeria, confirming the need for a redoubling of public policy efforts towards mitigating the associated risk. Government should continue to ensure that capital expenditure and recurrent expenditure are properly managed in a manner that it will raise the nation’s production capacity and accelerate economic growth. Likewise, intelligence capabilities should be enhanced with emphasis on the combination of technology with human intelligence gathering.
References
Abadie, A. (2006). Poverty, political freedom, and the roots of terrorism. American Economic Review, 96(2), 50-56.
Abimbola, J. O., & Adesote, S. A. (2012). Domestic terrorism and Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, issues and trends: A historical discourse. Journal of Arts and Contemporary Society, 4, 11-29.
ADBG. (2013). Nigeria Economic Outlook. Retrieved from http://www.afdb.org/en/countries/north-africa/
Ajayi, A. I. (2012). Boko Haram’ and terrorism in Nigeria: Exploratory and explanatory notes. Global Advanced Research Journal of History, Political Science and International Relations, 1(5), 103-107.
Aksoy, D., & Carter, D. B. (2011). ‘Electoral institutions and the emergence of terrorist groups’. Retrieved from http://www.princeton.edu/~daksoy/Deniz_Aksoy_Homepage/RESEARCH_files/Aksoy%20Carter.pdf
Bakare, W. (2011). Nigeria ranks 19th among countries prone to terrorist attacks – Survey. The Punch. Retrieved from http://odili.net/news/source/2011/aug/9/824.html
Barth, J. B., Tong Li, D. M., Phumiwasana, T., & Yago, G. (2006). Economic impacts of global terrorism: From Munich to Bali. Research Report. Retrieved from http://www.milkeninstitute.org/pdf/econ_impact_terrorism.pdf
Bergesen, A. J., & Lizardo, O. (2004). International terrorism and the world-system. Sociological Theory, 22, 38-52.
Bernholz, P. (2006). International political system, supreme values and terrorism. Public Choice, 128(1), 221-231.
Berrebi, C., & Lakdawalla, D. (2007). How does terrorism risk vary across space and time? An analysis based on the Israeli experience. Defense and Peace Economics, 18(2), 113–31.
Berrebi, C. (2007). Evidence about the link between education, poverty and terrorism among Palestinians. Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy, 13(1), 1-36.
Bueno de Mesquita, E. (2005). The quality of terror. American Journal of Political Science, 49(3), 515-30.
Blomberg, B. S., Hess, G. D., & Orphanides, A. (2004). The macroeconomic consequences of terrorism. Journal of Monetary Economics, 51(5), 1007- 1032.
Campos, N. F., & Gassebner, M. (2009). International terrorism, political instability and the escalation effect. 1-40. Bonn: Institute for the Study of Labor.
Caplan, B. (2006). Terrorism: The relevance of the rational choice model. Public Choice, 128(1), 91-107.
Caruso, R., & Schneider, F. (2011). The socio-economic determinants of terrorism and political violence in Western Europe (1994-2007). European Journal of Political Economy, 27(1), 37-49.
Chenoweth, E. (2010). Democratic competition and terrorist activity. Journal of Politics, 72(1), 16-30.
Crenshaw, M. (1981). The causes of terrorism. Comparative Politics, 13(4), 379-399.
Danjibo, N. D. (2009). Islamic fundamentalism and sectarian violence: The ‘Maitatsine’ and ‘Boko Haram’ crises in Northern Nigeria. Peace and Conflict Studies Paper Series, Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, 1-21.
Dickey, D. A., & Fuller, W. A. (1979). Distribution of the Estimators for Autoregressive Time Series with a Unit Root. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 74, 427-431.
Drakos, K., & Gofas, A. (2006). In search of the average transnational terrorist attack venue. Defence and Peace Economics, 17(2), 73-93.
Ehrlich, P. R., & Liu, J. (2002). Some roots of terrorism. Population and Environment, 4(2), 183-192.
Enders, W., & Sandler, T. (1993). The effectiveness of antiterrorism policies: A vector autoregression-intervention analysis. American Political Science Review, 87(4), 829-844.
Enders, W., & Sandler, T. (1996). Terrorism and foreign direct investment in Spain and Greece. Kyklos, 49(3), 331-352.
Enders, W., & Sandler, T. (1999). Transnational terrorism in the post–cold war era. International Studies Quarterly, 43(1), 145-167.
Enders, W., & Sandler, T. (2000). Is transnational terrorism becoming more threatening? A time-series investigation. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 44(3), 307-332.
Enders, W., & Sandler, T. (2006). The political economy of terrorism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Enders, W., Sandler, T., & Gaibulloev, T. (2011). Domestic versus transnational terrorism: Data, decomposition and dynamics. Journal of Peace Research, 48(3), 319-337.
Eubank, W., & Weinberg, L. (1994). Does democracy encourage terrorism? Terrorism and Political Violence, 6(4), 417-443.
Eubank, W., & Weinberg, L. (1998). ‘Terrorism and democracy: What recent events disclose. Terrorism and Political Violence, 10(1), 108-118.
Falola, T. (2009). Colonialism and violence in Nigeria. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Feldmann, A. E., & Perala, M. (2004). Reassessing the causes of nongovernmental terrorism in Latin America. Latin American Politics and Society, 46(2), 101-32.
Frey, B., & Luechinger, S. (2004). Decentralization as a disincentive for terror. European Journal of Political Economy, 20(2), 509–15.
Godovicova, E. (2012). The relationship between terrorism and poverty. The Scholarly Debates, 1(3), 75-85.
Gurr, T. R. (1970). Why Men Rebel. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Hashim, A. S., Patte, G., & Cohen, N. (2012). 'Western ways are evil’: The emergence and evolution of Boko Haram. Counter Terrorist Trends and Analysis, 4(7), 1-19.
Huntington, S. (1996). The clash of civilizations and the remaking of world order. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Ikelegbe, A. (2005). The Economy of conflict in the oil-rich Niger Delta of Nigeria. Nordic Journal of African Studies, 14(2), 208-234.
Kirk, R. M. (1983). Political terrorism and the size of government: A positive institutional analysis of violent political activity. Public Choice, 40(1), 41–52.
Krieger, T., & Meierrieks, D. (2010). What causes terrorism? Public Choice. Retrieved from http://www.springerlink.com/content/aw776631764g1m66/.
Krueger, A. B., & Maleckova, J. (2003). Education, poverty and terrorism: Is there a causal connection? The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 17(4), 119-44.
Krueger A. B. (2007). What makes a terrorist? Economics and roots of terrorism. Princeton University Press.
Krueger, A. B. (2008). What makes a homegrown terrorist? Human capital and participation in domestic Islamic terrorists groups in the U.S.A. Economics Letters, 101(3), 293–96.
Krueger, A. B., & Laitin, D. D. (2007). “Kto Kogo?: A cross-country study of the origins and targets of terrorism,” Chapter 5 in Keefer, P., and N. Loayza (ed.), Terrorism and Economic Development (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
Krueger, A. B., & Laitin, D. D. (2008). ‘‘Kto Kogo?: A cross-country study of the origins and targets of terrorism.’’ In: Terrorism, economic development, and political openness, ed. Philip Keefer and Norman Loayza. New York: CambridgeUniversity Press, 148–73.
Kurrild-Klitgaard, P., Justesen, M. K., & Klemmensen, R. (2006). The political economy of freedom, democracy and transnational terrorism. Public Choice, 128(1/2), 289-315.
La Free, G., & Dugan, L. (2004). How does studying terrorism compare to studying crime? In Deflem, M., Terrorism and Counterterrorism: A Criminological Perspective, New York: Elsevier.
Levs, J., & Monte Plott, M. (2013). Boy, 8, one of 3 killed in bombings at Boston Marathon; scores wounded. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/15/us/boston-marathon-explosions
Libcom.org (2006). The Development of Class Struggle in Nigeria-ICG.
Lijphart, A. (1977). Democracy in plural societies: A comparative exploration. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Li, Q., & Schaub, D. (2004). Economic globalization and transnational terrorism: A pooled time-series analysis. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 48(2), 230-258.
Li, Q. (2005). Does democracy promote or reduce transnational terrorist incidents? Journal of Conflict Resolution, 49(2), 1-20.
Mesquita, E. B. (2005). The quality of terror. American Journal of Political Science, 49(3), 515–530.
Mongabay.com. (2012). Nigeria- urbanization since Independence. Retrieved from http://www.mongabay.com/history/nigeria/nigeria-urbanization_since_independence.html
Njoku, E. T. (2011). Globalization and terrorism in Nigeria. Foreign Policy Journal. Retrieved from http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2011/08/13/globalization-and-terrorism-in-nigeria/
Ochonu, M. E. (2009). Colonial meltdown. Ohio University Press.
Ogundiya, S., & Amzat, J. (2008). Nigeria and the threats of terrorism: Myth or reality. Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa (Vol.10, No. 2) ISSN 1520-5509 Clarion University of Pennsylvania, Clarion, Pennsylvania.
Okereke, D. (2013). The remote, immediate causes of crimes, insecurity/terrorism and instability in Nigeria and solutions. Nairaland. Retrieved from http://www.nairaland.com/1027585/remote-immediate-causes-crimes-insecurity
Osaghae, E. E., & Suberu, R. T. (2005). A history of identities, violence, and stability in Nigeria. Center for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity, CRISE working Paper No.6 University of Oxford.
Oyeniyi, B. A. (2007). A historical overview of domestic terrorism in Nigeria. Domestic terrorism in Africa: Defining, addressing and understanding its impact on human security. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/376679/A_Historical_Overview_of_Domestic_Terrorism_in_Nigeria
Oyeniyi, A. B. (2010). Terrorism in Nigeria: Groups, activities, and politics. International Journal of Politics and Good Governance, 1(1.1), 1-16.
Phillips, P. C. B., & Perron, P. (1988). Testing for a unit root in time series regression. Biometrica, 75, 335-46.
Piazza, J. (2011). Poverty, minority economic discrimination and domestic terrorism. Journal of Peace Research, 48(3), 339-353.
Piazza, J. A. (2008). Incubators of terror: Do failed and failing states promote transnational terrorism? International Studies Quarterly, 52(3), 469–88.
Polo, S. (2012). Terror from within: The determinants of domestic terrorism. Retrieved from http://privatewww.essex.ac.uk/~ksg/esrcjsps/Polo.pdf
Powell, G. B. (1982). Contemporary democracies, participation, stability, and violence. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.
Robison, K. K., Crenshaw, E. M., & Craig Jenkins, J. (2006). Ideologies of violence: The social origins of Islamist and Leftist transnational terrorism. Social Forces, 84(4), 2009-26.
Rosendorff, P. B., & Sandler, T. (2005). The political economy of transnational terrorism. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 49, 171-182.
Ross, J. I. (1993). Structural causes of oppositional political terrorism: Toward a causal model. Journal of Peace Research, 30(3), 317-29.
Rotberg, R. I. (2002). Failed states in a world of terror. Foreign Affairs, 81(4), 127-140.
Sanchez-Cuenca and de la Calle (2009). Domestic terrorism: The hidden side of political violence. Annual Review of Political Science, 12, 31‐49. Retrieved from SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1445057
Sandler, T., & Enders, W. (2004). An economic perspective on transnational terrorism. European Journal of Political Economy, 20(2), 301-16.
Sandler, T., & Enders, W. (2008). Economic consequences of terrorism in developed and developing countries. In Keefer, P., & Loayza, N. (Eds.), Terrorism, Economic Development and Political Openness. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Schneider, F., Brück, T., & Meierrieks, D. (2011). The economics of terrorism and counter-terrorism: A survey (Part I). Economics of Security. Retrieved from http://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.372923.de/diw_econsec0044.pdf
Savun, B., & Phillips, B. (2009). Democracy, foreign policy, and terrorism. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 53(6), 878-904.
UNDP (2007). Nigeria Human Development Report advocates for growth with equity. Retrieved from http://www.ng.undp.org/news/10-12-2009.shtml
Umejei, E. (2011). Counting the economic cost of terrorism in Nigeria. Retrieved from http://www.americandailyherald.com/world-news/africa/item/counting-the-economic-cost-of-terrorism-in-nigeria.
Yildirim, J., Öcal, N., & Korucu, N. (n.d.). Analysing the determinants of terrorism in Turkey using geographically weighted regression. Retrieved from http://www.ub.edu/sea2009.com/Papers/10.pdf.
Young, J., & Findley, M. (2011). Promise and pitfalls of terrorism Research. International Studies Review, 13, 411-431.
Zumve, S., Ingyoroko, M., & Akuva, I. I. (2013). Terrorism in contemporary Nigeria: A latent function of official corruption and state neglect. European Scientific Journal, 9(8), 122-140.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2016 The Research Publication
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
